


She Who May Be Named - 03-31-16

by BardicRaven



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Books, Gen, Harry Potter References, Reading, Reading is fun and fundamental, S4E17 - 'Beacon of Hope', good books get kids to read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-03
Updated: 2016-04-03
Packaged: 2018-05-30 22:23:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6444352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BardicRaven/pseuds/BardicRaven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>J.K. Rowling or Felicity Smoak.</p>
<p>Either way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	She Who May Be Named - 03-31-16

O>>>\------------>

He'd been sixteen when 'Philosopher's Stone' came out. If asked, he pretended it belonged to his baby sister, Thea, just turned six, but in reality, the book was all his. One of the few things that was.

O>>>\----------->

He'd been seventeen when 'Chamber of Secrets' came out. He'd found his own hiding place from which to read it, because, after all, seventeen year old boys didn't read kid's books. It wouldn't do his reputation any good, at least not where it mattered to him - with the fast boys and faster girls, eager to get plastered and get laid as their main form of entertainment.

O>>>\----------->

He'd been eighteen when 'Prisoner of Azkaban' came out. He could relate - he often felt a prisoner too. Poor little rich boy, he knew, but it didn't change how he felt about it. Not that he'd tell any of his so-called friends this, but there were time when he'd gladly chuck it all for the chance to have a normal life with parents who openly loved him. The fast cars, the money, the booze, the girls. 

All of it.

But he didn't let them know that. On the outside he lived the rich boy's life and on the inside, where no-one else could see, he envied Harry for having people who cared.

O>>>\----------->

He'd been nineteen when 'Goblet of Fire' had come out and well on his way to flunking out of his first college.

In stolen moments as he read another chapter, he thought about what it would be like to be good at something. 

Something other than failing.

O>>>\----------->

He'd been twenty-two when 'Order of the Phoenix' came out. By then, ffour colleges were in the rearview mirror and his family had stopped talking to him about continuing his education. Far from being the relief he'd expected it would be, it only served to increase the despair he felt, the sense of futility and failure.

In the pages of the book, Oliver was able to forget the failures, his failures, his being a failure, and instead, dream of being someone who was worthy, who took care of people, who earned both love and loyalty. 

O>>>\----------->

He'd been twenty-four when 'Half-blood Prince' came out and once again, he felt as if the books were being written for him. Certainly he was an outcast as far as the rest of the world was concerned - too rich, too spoiled, too dissipated for the everyday world and too careless, too ignorant for the monied world.

He found his solace in alcohol, fast cars, loose women, and the pages of a book. He knew that everyone from his parents to the girl he'd slept with last night - what was her name again? - would be shocked if they knew he was reading an actual book, with actual pages, never mind a big, thick hardcover.

He found he liked having the secret, the chance to do something that was all his and only his.

O>>>\----------->

He was twenty-six when 'Deathly Hallows' came out. As he turned the final page, he felt as if a part of himself was over too. 

The story was finished. 

As near as he could tell, his life was too. It was just a matter of when the body would stop moving long enough for them to put it into a grave.

O>>>\----------->

There was a part of him that wasn't surprised when, less than a year later, the storm rose and the waters came to drag him deep.

The story was over. Now he would be too. And all the failing, the disappointment, would be over.

And a part of him was glad.

O>>>\----------->

**Author's Note:**

> ##### I loved that bit in last week's epi where Oliver stalks off saying 'There were movies?' with everybody all looking at him like that. I could feel the story there, just waiting to come out, and when I did a quick search of both Wikipedia and IMDb for the dates and found the lovely timings there, well... it just had to be written. 
> 
> ##### Enjoy! And if you like the story, please leave a comment and/or a kudo - both are much appreciated and feed the Muses and my writerly soul.
> 
> ##### -B!


End file.
